How to say

'no'">

What's the best way to say "no" to someone?

Tim Shack, PNC Financial Services
You really have to be sure that saying "no" is the right answer, particularly if it's a strategic issue. I worry more about what we're doing, if we're doing the right thing, to position ourselves for the future. If the call is mine, then it's first about being open and objective and really understanding the benefits, costs, risks and alternatives.

If a business partner is making the call, we try to be very proactive about our views. But in the end, they make the call. We don't want to be just order-takers but when a decision is made, and you didn't like it, it doesn't matter. You make it a success.

Guy Battista, formerly of First Data, now president of Western Union Financial Services
I make it simple. I think, "What do I shut down that I don't need because now I need another thing?" You've got to get the monkey off the CIO's back. It's easy for business people to call up the CIO and beat them up.

Cal Sihilling, Nash Finch
You never say no. If you have list of priorities that your department has agreed on, then it's not saying no but agreeing to say yes to something else.

Roy Dunbar, MasterCard
Smile while you're doing it.

Next page: Interacting with the board of directors

Interacting with the board

of directors">

What are your board's major concerns on IT projects?

Tim Shack, PNC Financial Services
At PNC, interaction with the board is regular and frequent. In the fall, we had a full board meeting entirely on emerging-technology trends, and how PNC is competitively positioned in each business segment.

You know those Consumer Reports ratings--the little circles filled in all black or half black? We did those to assess where we think we are and how each business unit is positioned against trends in the industry 12 months and three years out. Where do we need to make investments to compete? It was a very, very detailed update with the board. I had all my major technology leaders--CIOs for various businesses, head of shared services infrastructure, our payment guru, people who we'd call leaders of e-commerce. We took them through a 3 1/2-hour meeting on what's happening.

Guy Battista, formerly of First Data, now president of Western Union Financial Services
At one of the board meetings every year, we would go through the upcoming budget. Any major project over a certain amount, the board had to approve. You did have to give regular updates. I remember we presented a major project that was very, very large and the board asked us to break it down into subcomponents and come back to them for funding on each component after we finished the previous one.

Roy Dunbar, MasterCard
Those projects may be featured in the business plan and reviewed once or twice a year by the board. Progress is updated, but in terms of the overall project plan, not just technology.

Next page: Using money to motivate employees

Using money to motivate

employees">

How do you tie rewards and compensation for your people to the success of IT?

Roy Dunbar, MasterCard
Most companies have a range of tools--bonuses for extraordinarily well-done work, perhaps stock options. Some or all of these are used to reward individuals on particularly high-risk or critical projects that have to be delivered on time with exceptional results. You may use retention bonuses or stock options so they don't jump ship. But if most people are working on projects they're excited by, they are excited not by the monetary element but by the desire to do something that hasn't been done before or to beat the competition.

That's a stronger driver for IT leaders. The compensation element is something to make a company feel more secure.

Linda Goodspeed, Lennox International
Each individual has a one- or two-page road map of expectations and personal development goals per year, such as mentoring with people in the business or going for an M.B.A. We're trying to rotate IT people so they understand more of the business and aren't stuck in one job. We review that map twice a year and measure success of project implementations--the timing, cost of the project, ROI, [whether it was] successful from a business point of view.

Guy Battista, formerly of First Data, now president of Western Union Financial Services
We go through an objective-setting exercise. I come out with high-level objectives for my whole group. My direct reports will tie their objectives to mine and they get more granular. But they're completely tied to compensation and bonuses.

From a non-monetary perspective, the biggest way to reward employees is to say "thank you" and say it in public. I like to play golf. I get invited to different golf tournaments. What I usually do is try to give four employees an opportunity to play golf. Or I buy tickets to other sports. That's an effective gesture because it's unexpected.

Next page: Playing a role outside IT

Playing a role outside

IT">

For those of you still in straight CIO roles, how involved do you get in operations?

Linda Goodspeed, Lennox International
The most important thing a CTO or CIO can have is an understanding of operations. Having P&L experience is one of the best ways to truly understand the business and customer needs. IT is not the main product of the company--its purpose is to deliver products to customers. My responsibility is also strategic sourcing, IT and engineering and supply chain. I'm constantly looking for different ways to apply technology to our businesses.

Cal Sihilling, Nash Finch
Other than technology stuff, I'm responsible for facilitating the strategic plan. Organizing that. I have responsibility for the project office. We call it the "project support group" for IT projects. Also, I'm responsible for process--re-engineering process, creating repeatable processes. We're staffing up on that now.

Next page: Roundtable participants

Roundtable participants

Roundtable participants

Guy Battista
is the former chief information officer of First Data, a $7.1 billion financial services firm. He is now president of Western Union Financial Services, which First Data spun out in 2006.

Roy Dunbar
is president of global technology and operations at MasterCard, the $3.3 billion credit-card company.

Linda Goodspeed
is chief technology officer of Lennox International, a $3.7 billion manufacturer. She is also executive vice president of supply chain and logistics.

Tim Shack
is chief information officer of PNC Financial Services, an $11.1 billion financial services firm. He is also chairman and CEO of PFPC, a PNC unit that provides technology services to other investment companies.

How this feature was

put together"> How this feature was put together
The five technology executives who appear in this feature were interviewed separately, via phone, in early June. CIO Insight's sister publication Baseline has edited their responses and grouped them into the virtual roundtable that appears here.